Showing posts with label homecoming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homecoming. Show all posts

HOMECOMING MUM Texas Tradition - Football HOCO Garter Mum - DIY tutorial - Girls & Guys

If you live in Texas you definitely know all about mums. If you don't, be glad! :) This tutorial is for a very basic mum that was made for a 5th grader!! My son asked a friend to go but he also HAD to give her a mum. He gave me ONE DAY notice and I literately purchased the very last mum flower I found under a shelf at the craft store. Talk about fast and furious crafting. Whew!

Mum & garter mum

My son is now 8th grade and last night he started asking about creative ways to ask someone to HOCO. He is not 100% sure he will ask her but wanted to give me notice just in case. Looks like he remembered from the last time. :)  I'll be buying supplies and may or may not be making one. :)

Mums grow each year and by senior year they are bigger than the girl.....so crazy!!!! I've seen some with lights and feather boas. I think our seniors do an all white theme (white & gold) and not the traditional school colors. I'll eventually find out. Geez!

Supplies 
Lots and lots of ribbon
Accessories - footballs, bells, sport/activity trinkets
Mum flower
Mum cardboard base (2 pieces)
Mum flower decor (bear, large helmet, letters, etc.) 
Glitter stickers - names, year, etc.
Garter - for guys


I made ribbon loops to go around the mum base. 
There are so many different designs but this one is really easy. 

I tested the flower in the center to make sure the staples would be covered and tested spacing for the long ribbons. Don't forget to leave space to attach ribbons.

MAKING THE BASE RIBBONS

I found the center of the each ribbon (plain - not design ribbons) and folded the sides down to make a point. 
Staple near the point to keep the shape.

One single black wide ribbon for the center. Two sets of side ribbons layered based on width - large bottom (black), medium  - middle (red) and small - top (black) ribbons alternating colors. 

One wide black ribbon in the center and the layered ribbons on each side. 

I'm testing spacing before the ribbon loops were attached.

This are some additional ribbons specific to our school. They are not really suppose to be symmetrical ((cringing because I love symmetry)) BUT I think in the end only one or two were different. Lol. I pre-planned how I would layer them. 

Layer the ribbons and attach with hot glue.

Remember to position the ribbons with the names to be seen. Usually when they walk but only partially hidden when hanging.

Remember to add little accessories and bells. The noise is expected. 
I first tie it and then add a little ribbon. Extra little detail. 

I attach two ways for the girl to wear the mum. 1. the ribbon for around the neck to hang and 2. (not pictured) another ribbon loop to add a large safety pin to attach. 

IF she wore it around her neck the "v" shape would make it hang nice and leaves a little space between the ribbons not to choke her.  IF she didn't wear it around her neck the ribbons fall behind the mum and you can't see them. 

The small black "v" are the ends on the neck ribbon. I secured with hot glue. 

For the center of the mum I could only find a white bear. I was hoping for red since the mum flower was white. I ended up just using red accessories and stickers for the hat.

Hot glued the bear in the center of the flower.

Hot glued the flower to the base. DONE :) 

GARTER MUM 

For the guys it's really similar but on a smaller scale. Smaller ribbons, smaller accessories, smaller base, etc. 
The only really difference is the garter. The guys wear them on their arm. 


Made the ribbon loops in each color. 

I attached the red first and waited to attach the second row of black.
Attached the base ribbons.

I tested placement of the black ribbon loops and decided to add the rest of the ribbons before attaching them. I wanted the ribbons placed wider than I planned. With the black loops attached I wouldn't have that much space to add ribbons.  

Attached the ribbons and black loops on top.


Trimmed ribbons and added the name stickers

Hot glued the mum flower

Attached the garter around the second base and attached it to one one with all the ribbon loops. 

Turned out so cute!


Enough pics!! 

Going to the game as a 5th grader means Mom goes too. :)

They had fun! 

Thank you for stopping by!

SIGN tutorial - Military Welcome Home - MEMORIAL DAY - Independence Day - PARADE - DIY craft idea - 4th of july

Ever heard of Honor Flight? Talk about an emotional experience for everyone involved. This is a wonderful organization that honors and recognizes our Veterans, most specifically our WWII Veterans, with "A Trip of a Lifetime" to Washington D.C.

Flight #42, The Chester Hall Memorial Flight, they brought a solider to his final resting place to Arlington National Cemetery.

We've attended the welcome home event several times and EVERY SINGLE TIME I cry. The Veterans are emotional, the crowd is emotional and it's all happy tears. The last Welcome Home event they honored Vietnam and Korean War Veterans. They spoke about how soldiers were treated when they arrived home from Vietnam and THIS is the welcome home they deserved. ((sniffle))

If you want to learn more or attend a Welcome Home event visit Honor Flight Austin for more details.

With all that said, we wanted to make signs to show our support. I made these in about 15-20 mins and have used them for 4 Welcome Home events and 2 Independence Day parades. They still look fantastic and everyone wants to know how we made them or take photos.

NOW, I'll share my secret....or laziness for something quick and easy.



Supplies -
Foam core poster board - Such a HUGE difference from regular poster board. Maybe $1.99 each and really worth it. Plain black or white are cheapest and colors are pretty pricey at $7.99. I went with white. Purchased at Micheal's.
Stickers or markers - I'm a perfectionist and even with my handwriting I would just pick it apart on how non-perfect it looks or not completely straight. I went with stickers. 50% off coupon at Micheal's.
Garland - YES!!! Such a quick addition that makes your sign AWESOME! $.99 from the dollar store or after Christmas I purchase different colors.
Hot glue gun / glue 

I pictured flags because I found them at the dollar store but we ended up just holding them. :)



I cut out the stickers and arranged them before sticking to look at spacing.



I hot glued the garland around the edges. Really fast and easy. Then I placed the stickers.



We made two. One more specific to the Honor Flight and the other we could use for parades.




One event we brought red and blue cookies for all the Vets. The boys love to shake their hands at the end and this was a little something extra. 


Hope this helped. Any questions, please ask!



Thank you for stopping by!